"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
11/22/2014 at 11:34 Filed to: None
25
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"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
11/22/2014 at 11:34 Filed to: None | 25
| 70 |
While doing research, I came across one of those stories that is just too ironic to pass up: Charles Underwood quit racing after his wife told him it was too dangerous. So, a week later he got killed in a car accident, coming home from a race he had attended as a spectator .
All we know is the two sentences Underwood merited in the Milwaukee Journal , August 14, 1951. I did some basic searches for him and cannot find anything else about him. Racing-Reference !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! so I suspect his racing was limited to the lesser events of the day.
Charles Underwood should be remembered. Let's make him the patron saint for those who are told to quit doing something because it is "too dangerous."
"Too dangerous? Why, I could get killed in a car accident any day now. Like Charles Underwood." In fact, quitting something because it is too dangerous would be a slap at the memory of Charles Underwood.
Observe a moment of silence for Charles Underwood. And, in honor of him, carry on doing those things which others think are "too dangerous."
Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . He also wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . You can hear his podcast Lehto's Law on iTunes !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we're not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn't act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.
TadKosciuszko
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 12:03 |
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For the life of me I can't remember his name, but there was a NASCAR driver many decades ago that suddenly heard a voice telling him to stop and get out of the car.
He pulled it into the pits, got out, and never raced again.
It's not an urban legend, he actually exists, I just can't find his damn name.
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SteveLehto
> TadKosciuszko
11/22/2014 at 12:11 |
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Yes and No. I assume you mean Bobby Isaac. I wrote a book about him and that story was commonly told. He later clarified (he rarely gave interviews) and said that he meant something to the effect "I asked myself, 'What am I doing here?'" The race he dropped out of had a very ugly, fatal accident in it and he had just witnessed it. AND, he was on a team that was nowhere near as competitive as the one he had been on (K&K) when he had won the Nat'l Championship in 1970.
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TadKosciuszko
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 12:28 |
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Thank you. I didn't know any of the backstory, just the common telling of it.
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SteveLehto
> TadKosciuszko
11/22/2014 at 12:36 |
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Yes, it is almost always mentioned with his life story. He died in 1977 and gave so few interviews that much of what is told about him is murky.
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 12:44 |
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Nedus
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 14:39 |
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I just love how you're like "oh, that guy most people know nothing about? Yeah I wrote a book about him."
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SteveLehto
> Nedus
11/22/2014 at 14:41 |
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It's really more like, "Wow, you throw out a fact on one of the three things I know something about." 99 times out of a 100, I just click the blue star because I have no idea what the comment means.
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Nedus
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 14:43 |
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My interpretation made you sound like more of a badass, imo. But either way, I like reading your articles.
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SteveLehto
> Nedus
11/22/2014 at 14:45 |
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Yes, I got that. But I thought it was hilarious when the comment was about Bobby Isaac - the subject of the first book I ever wrote. Talk about a one in a million. I just wish I could maintain that kind of expertise for everything I get asked.
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Nedus
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 14:47 |
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Oh yeah I get that. It's like if someone asked me "hey do you know how to fix a '67 Mustang's e-brake mechanism with a bobby pin?" Why actually, yes I do! Now I sound awesome!
E39Geek
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:09 |
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For those of you not on good terms with The Google, http://www.amazon.com/Bobby-Isaac-NA
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SteveLehto
> E39Geek
11/22/2014 at 15:11 |
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And I believe that if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can download and read it for free.
Thanks for the note.
journeymanbaiter
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:15 |
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Steve, if the widow Underwood is still around, I bet she's gonna hunt you down and kick your ass.
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SteveLehto
> journeymanbaiter
11/22/2014 at 15:17 |
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Still a safer bet than driving in traffic next week.
Chaparral2F
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:21 |
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I may be somewhat fatalistic, but I believe when your time is up, it is up. I would rather do something dangerous like auto racing and enjoy life than to maybe die choking on a piece of meat or being rear ended by a mindless driver texting while driving at high speed.
Steve McQueen said it best:
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SteveLehto
> Chaparral2F
11/22/2014 at 15:23 |
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I agree whole heartedly.
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Chaparral2F
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:24 |
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Steve, I HAVE to HAVE that book. I loved Bobby Isaac. I will always remember him driving the #71 K&K Insurance Dodge Daytona.
mandy's mimosaaaaaa
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:24 |
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I'm not trying to be morbid and use a tragedy as a joke, but Mike Hailwood was killed in a traffic accident and he had a very colorful career as a car and motorcycle racer.
I can't think of his name, but a former factory GP rider for Yamaha was killed in a scooter accident in Japan during the nineties.
Jean-Claude Olivier, a manager for Yamaha France that competed in the Dakar in the 80's was killed in a traffic accident last year.
Life as a whole is very dangerous.
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SteveLehto
> Chaparral2F
11/22/2014 at 15:27 |
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I have a few hard copies of it that is long out-of-print. Email me directly if you are interested in acquiring one. (Lehto@kennon.com)
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SteveLehto
> mandy's mimosaaaaaa
11/22/2014 at 15:30 |
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Yes. I agree.
My uncle raced stock cars on the smaller tracks of the midwest in the 1950s and 1960s and said he felt far safer during a race than he did driving in traffic in Detroit.
icemqn
>
11/22/2014 at 15:30 |
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dyingggg
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Chaparral2F
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:35 |
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Steve, will do. Each fall, I buy a number of good books for the long winter. This book sounds right up my alley.
Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:37 |
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Steve, right now* I really hate you:
Not only did you just crush the mystery of that story for me, you crushed the entire mysterious/supernatural aura of Talledega (for me)
*I say right now because I'm still going to read your articles.
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SteveLehto
> Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion
11/22/2014 at 15:40 |
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Sorry. Does Talladega need a supernatural aura considering how scary-fast it is?
Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment
> mandy's mimosaaaaaa
11/22/2014 at 15:44 |
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Life, as far as we know, still has a 0% survival rate.
macshome
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:44 |
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Sadly racing is full of stories like this. Just a few years ago one of my childhood heroes, Bob Wollek, was hit and killed by a car while riding a bicycle back to his hotel after practice at Sebring.
Don't even get me started on the amount of drivers we've lost to aircraft crashes. Al Holbert, Colin McRea, Graham Hill the list is long.
The fact of the matter is that, even at 200 MPH, a race car is one of the safest places you can be.
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Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:46 |
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Scary fast + being maybe built on ancient Indian burial ground + land being cursed by an Indian shaman + mysterious stories relating to last 2 points = Awesome Ad campaign
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SteveLehto
> Herr Quattro - Has a 4-Motion
11/22/2014 at 15:48 |
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Don't forget about the Curse of the Restrictor Plate. Gives me douche chills just to type the phrase.
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Countersteer
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 15:51 |
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Stan Fox survived this only to die in a road crash in New Zealand at the age of 48.
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SteveLehto
> Countersteer
11/22/2014 at 15:51 |
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Wow.
thegregorius
> Countersteer
11/22/2014 at 16:00 |
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My stream of thoughts upon seeing this picture was something like "Oh, that's pretty complete disintegration right there. There's hardly anything left of the car. I mean, look at the cockpit, is there even room for his legs in the... OH MY GOD THOSE ARE HIS LEGS?"
BJ
> Countersteer
11/22/2014 at 16:15 |
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Sweet mother of Christ, just look at his legs hanging out! I feel weak in the knees just looking at that...
dimag05
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 16:44 |
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Died on his way TO a race...
Tina Corbett
> dimag05
11/22/2014 at 17:10 |
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"He was a rebel...without an airbag."~ James May
Lorna J. Brown
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 17:20 |
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Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail
> http://www.jobs700.com
SerialThriller
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 17:50 |
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Years ago, I was riding motorcycles with two friends when one crashed. Even though he walked away, the other vowed to quit riding. In fact, the next day he put his bike up for sale. Just a few weeks later he was killed in a car crash as a passenger.
I think of him every time someone tells me how dangerous riding is. Like Al Pacino says in Heat, "You can get killed walking your doggie!"
OTE_TheMissile
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 17:59 |
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"How do you let him do what he does?" and I say for one, we make our living from it, two, the day I tell him he can't he's going to die in a traffic accident going up the 405 to Torrance. I mean, when it's your day, it's your day
-Faye Campbell, wife of offroad motorcycle racer Johnny Campbell, Dust to Glory
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Countersteer
> thegregorius
11/22/2014 at 18:38 |
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The craziest thing about this crash it he (reportedly) didn't hurt his legs. He suffered a severe head injury that ended his Indy career. IIRC, he ended up with a big following in Australia and raced there.
SpikeFiend
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 18:52 |
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I figure that people in a race at least know how to drive, unlike the vast majority of people on the roads.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> Nedus
11/22/2014 at 19:36 |
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"hey do you know how to fix a '67 Mustang's e-brake mechanism with a bobby pin?"
Trick question. The '67 Mustang doesn't have electronic brakes.
/joking.
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> thegregorius
11/22/2014 at 19:39 |
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Yeah... I noticed that right after noticing the Ford Cosworth engine...
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Nedus
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/22/2014 at 19:43 |
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Well done. I thought about editing it to parking brake, but was too lazy
Kelly Wittenauer
> SpikeFiend
11/22/2014 at 21:36 |
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Yep, nearly all of them are skilled drivers. They're also focused on driving and all are at least trying to go in the same direction and as fast as they can.
Coty
> SteveLehto
11/22/2014 at 23:24 |
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Easy on the specifics.
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 01:03 |
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He died while returning from watching a race. Had he not gone, he wouldn't have died. Therefore, racing killed him just like his wife feared.
Finegreensilk1
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 03:35 |
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Paul Walker played a street racer, did many charity races, but ultimately died as a passenger in a non-racing car.
HeavySleeper
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 06:54 |
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its shit like this that keeps me on the saddle of a motorbike.
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SteveLehto
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
11/23/2014 at 07:04 |
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I'm sure that is what she told all her friends.
maximusorama
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 07:12 |
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Steve - Let's make him the patron saint for those who are needlessly and incorrectly nagged by their wives to stop doing something they love. Of course, I don't suffer from this problem. Ooops... gotta hit Publish and close this browser page since my wife told me to stop spending time on Jalop...
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SteveLehto
> maximusorama
11/23/2014 at 07:15 |
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That thought had occurred to me too but I was worried there might be some sort of backlash. As in me getting lashed in the back for typing it . . . .
Janet J. Wilson
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 07:19 |
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Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail
> http://www.jobs700.com
Brenda D. Adames
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 11:42 |
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Start working at home with Google! It's by-far the best job I've had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail
> http://www.jobs700.com
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945T
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 12:39 |
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That explains why you recommend my posts. And I thought I was doing good. :P
So many wasted nights.
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SteveLehto
> 945T
11/23/2014 at 12:44 |
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Actually, I understand most of them. But once in a while I get one that really has me wondering.
Those aren't as bad as the name callers (which seem to have calmed down lately). When I first showed up here I got called all kinds of names. One guy said I was an "unfunny prick." I've also been called stupid or ignorant too many times to count.
Of course, that's to be expected; this is the internet after all.
But keep commenting!
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945T
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 12:46 |
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It's like people have an irrational hatred for lawyers. I can't imagine why :)
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SteveLehto
> 945T
11/23/2014 at 12:55 |
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Also, some people don't know how to discuss opposing viewpoints without name calling.
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945T
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 14:25 |
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It's the beauty of the anonymous internet, Steve.
VMAX7
> Finegreensilk1
11/23/2014 at 16:25 |
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The Carrera GT is a race car for the street. Shoulda been called the Carrera RS.
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Finegreensilk1
> VMAX7
11/23/2014 at 16:51 |
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At the time he died, it was just a regular car, driven in an unsafe manner. It's still ironic.
You may be technically right, but that's the worst kind of right. Lol.
BigBlock440
> SteveLehto
11/23/2014 at 23:02 |
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At least he didn't have to suffer too long without racing. Here's to Charles.
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DeathDeathDeath
> SteveLehto
11/24/2014 at 00:24 |
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Mike Hawthorn quit F1 with 3 Grand Prix victories, only to die in a street racing accident six months later.
Tad-bravo
> SerialThriller
11/24/2014 at 02:17 |
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I was gonna comment on how the article was dumb but your comment is even more worthy of my whining reply.
Riding bikes is fucking dangerous as hell. I don't care about your buddy's bad luck, people die in cars and on bikes all the time but the fact is there are a lot more deaths on bikes.
Hell even a pigeon could kill you on a bike.
Statistics don't lie.
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Tad-bravo
> SteveLehto
11/24/2014 at 02:19 |
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so because people can choke and die on normal food, they should just go eat poison since it's not too dangerous?
muttons
> SteveLehto
11/24/2014 at 08:03 |
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Alanis Morrisette needs to read this story...
axiomatik
> SteveLehto
11/24/2014 at 10:27 |
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There's always a flipside:
Man Buys Motorcycle Over Wife's Objections, Dies After Three-Mile Ride
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SteveLehto
> axiomatik
11/24/2014 at 12:43 |
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Seems the wife is the one who always survives. Coincidence?
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SerialThriller
> Tad-bravo
11/24/2014 at 13:38 |
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I don't dispute the fact that riding a motorcycle is more dangerous than riding in a car. My point is that if you enjoy riding or racing or whatever, weigh the risks, take the necessary precautions, and do it because if you don't you're gonna die anyway.
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Tad-bravo
> SerialThriller
11/24/2014 at 14:01 |
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everybody's gonna die, duh. your buddy decided to take less chances in the death roulette which is very understandable and the fact he died anyway doesn't take anything from his good decision to stop riding a death trap.
mike in So Cal
> dimag05
11/28/2014 at 17:47 |
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at least he didnt have to worry about IMS bearing failure
Cielmer
> Finegreensilk1
11/28/2014 at 23:13 |
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I dont this this really counts. He died in a supercar giving rides to people that had never driven something like that before.